Theatre Auditions: Polaroid Stories

Audition Notice for POLAROID STORIES

the production seeks a flexible cast of 10 actors

Plot synopsis

A visceral blend of classical mythology and real life stories told by street kids, Naomi Iizuka’s Polaroid Stories journeys into a dangerous world where myth-making fulfils a fierce need for transcendence, where storytelling has the power ot transform a reality in which characters’ lives are continually threatened, devalued and effaced. Not all the stories these characters tell are true; some are lies, wild yarns, clever deceits, baroque fabrications. But whether or not a homeless kid invents an incredible history for himself isn’t the point, explains diarist-of-the-street Jim Grimsley. “All these stories and lies add up to something like the truth.” Inspired in part by Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Iizuka’s Polaroid Stories takes place on an abandoned pier on the outermost edge of a city, a way stop for dreamers, dealers and desperadoes, a no-man’s land where runaways seek camaraderie, refuge and escape. Serpentine routes from the street to the heart characterize the interactions in this spellbinding tale of young people pushed to society’s fringe. Informed, as well, by interviews with young prostitutes and street kids, Polaroid Stories conveys a whirlwind of psychic disturbance, confusion and longing. Like their mythic counterparts, these modem-day mortals are engulfed by needs that burn and consume. Their language mixes poetry and profanity, imbuing the play with lyricism and great theatrical force.

Role breakdown

• Orpheus: Searching for Eurydice; also plays Tereus
• Eurydice: Searching for a home
• D: runs a “club”
• Skinhead Boy: insecure and energetic
• Skinhead Girl: Just trying to find the way; also plays Neon Girl
• Narcissus: obsessed with himself
• Echo: obsessed with Narcissus
• Philomel: sings their way through the world
• Persephone: queen of the “underworld”
• G: an absent father

What to prepare

Please choose and prepare one (1) of the three provided monologues hanging on the callboard behind Tritico Theatre. Auditions will be taped in Tritico theatre on Nov. 18, 6 to 10 p.m. Please sign up for a time on the callboard behind Tritico Theatre. If you sing, please also prepare 16 bars of any song. There will be no accompanist, singing will be done acapella. Callbacks will be held in Tritico Theatre on Friday, Nov. 22, at 6 p.m., IF NEEDED.

Content warning: VULGARITY, TRIGGERING TOPICS, TRAUMA, ASSAULT, IMPLIED INTIMACY